Do Pain Medicine Fellowships Provide Adequate Education in Head and Facial Pain? A Survey of Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Directors

Abstract

Background: Fellows with insufficient education in head and facial pain may feel ill equipped to treat patients suffering from these disabling disorders. We hypothesized that there is variation in the scope and extent of headache and facial pain education that pain fellows receive during their pain fellowship. Study Design: A survey Setting: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Accredited pain medicine fellowship programs. Methods: After an exemption was obtained from the University of Virginia Institutional Review Board (IRB), an email with a link to the survey was sent to members of the Association of Pain Program Directors (APPD). The survey was also distributed to Association of Pain Program Director members at the annual 2019 APPD meetings during the Annual Society of Associations of Academic Anesthesiologists and Perioperative Medicine (SAAAPM) and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) meetings. The survey contained 16 questions. (questions are shown in Appendix 1). Results: Forty-seven of 108 program directors responded to the survey. Some program directors did not respond to every question. Limitations: The response rate is a limitation, but it is comparable to similar studies. Conclusions: The majority of pain fellows receive some education in head and facial pain. However; there were variations among fellowship programs in the extent and scope of education provided. Recognizing these gaps and variations in education, may lead to a better understanding of how to enhance and provide head and facial pain education during pain fellowship.